The Thinking Blog is more than just a frequently-updated source of amusing facts and interesting information. It is a stream of consciousness intended to be succinct and thought provoking. A cornucopia of eclectic topics aiming to examine a range of exciting ideas, inspirational technologies and cultural curiosities. There is something for everyone; from serious to humorous, for deep and light-hearted thinkers alike.

14 June 2007

All it takes is for the earth to have an atmosphere and the sun to eject ions at speeds up to 1200 km/second then BAM! You’ve got some unbelievable mother nature action. Imagine what people must have thought, thousands of years ago, when they saw these streams and swirls of light and color in the evening sky. Watching this spectacular celestial phenomena today, for that matter, is beyond spectacular.

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Aurora happens in both the southern and northern hemispheres, particularly in the polar zone. It is called Aurora Borealis (also known as Northern Lights) in the Artic region and Aurora Australis in the Antartic region. Streaming plasma clouds, composed of fast moving charged particles, form a solar wind. It is the tangential interaction of the solar wind with the earth’s magnetic field that traps some of these charged particles. These trapped particles then flow along the magnetic field lines of the earth into the upper most regions of our planet’s atmosphere. That’s when the lights become manifest and their dance begins.

Hope you enjoyed the show! Please share it with your friends and even organize a trip to see an Aurora with your own eyes.

This post was written by Jennifer Hitchcock from Life of a School Bus Driver. Images and videos collected by Ilker Yoldas from these sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. If you are interested in contributing to the thinking process and become a guest writer on The Thinking Blog, find out more information here and be my guest!